Composite Fabrication Techniques

There are several composite fabrication techniques available. In this course, a few conventional
techniques suitable for the fabrication of polymer matrix composites will be discussed. These are given
below:

▪ Wet / Hand Lay-up Technique

▪ Spray lay-up Technique Fabrication of discrete / particulate

▪ The fibres are first placed in place in the mold. The fibres
can be in the form of woven, knitted, stitched or bonded
fabrics.
▪ Then the resin is impregnated. The impregnation of resin
is done by using rollers, brushes or a nip-roller type
impregnator.
▪ The impregnation helps in forcing the resin inside the
fabric. The laminates fabricated by this process are then
cured under standard atmospheric conditions.
Wet / Hand Lay-up Technique (contd.)

Advantages
▪ The process results in low-cost tooling with the use of room-temperature cure resins.
▪ The process is simple to use.
▪ Higher fiber contents and longer fibres as compared to other processes.

Disadvantages
▪ Since the process is worked by hands, there are safety and hazard considerations.
▪ The resin needs to be less viscous so that it can be easily worked by hands.
▪ The quality of the final product is highly skill dependent of the labour.
▪ Uniform distribution of resin inside the fabric is not possible. It leads to voids in the laminates.

Applications
▪ The process is suitable for the fabrication of wind-turbine blades, boats and architectural moldings
Filament Winding Technique
▪ This process is an automated process. This process
is primarily used for hollow, generally circular or
oval sectioned components.
▪ Fiber tows are passed through a resin bath before
being wound onto a mandrel in a variety of
orientations, controlled by the fiber feeding
mechanism, and rate of rotation of the mandrel.
▪ The wound component is then cured in an oven or
autoclave (where temperature cycle can be
maintained)
Filament Winding Technique (contd.)
Advantages
▪ The process is automated and can be very fast.
▪ Complex fiber patterns can be attained for better load bearing of the structure.
Disadvantages
▪ Resins with low viscosity are needed.
▪ The process is limited to convex shaped components.
▪ Fibers cannot easily be laid exactly along the length of a component.
▪ Mandrel costs for large components can be high.
▪ The external surface of the component is not smoothly finished.

Applications
▪ Pressure bottles, rocket motor casing, chemical storage tanks, pipelines, gas cylinders, fire-
fighters, breathing tanks etc.
Resin Transfer Molding Technique
▪ The process consists of arranging the fibres or cloth
fabrics in the desired configuration in a preform.
These fabrics are sometimes pre-pressed to the
mold shape, and held together by a binder.
▪ A second matching mold tool is then clamped over
the first. Then pressurized resin is injected into the
cavity.
▪ Vacuum can also be applied to the mold cavity to
assist resin in being drawn into the fabrics. This is
known as Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding
(VARTM) or Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection (VARI).
The laminate is then cured.
▪ Both injection and cure can take place at either
ambient or elevated temperature.
Resin Transfer Molding Technique (contd.)
Advantages
▪ The process is very efficient.
▪ Suitable for complex shapes.
▪ High fiber volume laminates can be obtained with very low void contents.
▪ Safe and environmental control due to enclosure of resin.
▪ Both sides of the component have a molded surface. Hence, the final product gets a superior
surface finish
Disadvantages
▪ Unimpregnated areas can occur resulting in very expensive scrap parts

Applications
▪ Motor casing, engine covers, etc.
Pultrusion Technique
▪ It is a continuous process in which composites in
the form of fibers and fabrics are pulled through a
bath of liquid resin.
▪ The fibers wetted with resin are pulled through a
performer and subsequently through the die.
Temperature is controlled in this die to cure to
give its final shape. The die shape used in this
process is nothing the replica of the final product.
▪ The final product is pulled by the caterpillar
mechanisms and cut by the diamond cutter blades
of desired sizes
Pultrusion Technique (contd.)
Advantages
▪ The process automated and is suitable for mass production
▪ Resin content can be accurately controlled
▪ The surface finish of the product is good
▪ Structural properties of product can be very good as the profiles have very straight fibres
Disadvantages
▪ Limited to constant or near constant cross-section components
▪ Heated die costs can be high
▪ Products with small cross-sections alone can be fabricated

Applications
▪ Beams and girders used in roof structures, bridges, ladders, frameworks
Spray Lay-up Technique

▪ Fiber is chopped in a hand-held gun and fed into a

Advantages
▪ It is suitable for small to medium-volume parts.
▪ It is a very economical process for making small to large parts.
▪ It utilizes low-cost tooling as well as low-cost material systems.
Spray Lay-up Technique (contd.)
Disadvantages
▪ It is not suitable for making parts that have high structural requirements.
▪ It is difficult to control the fiber volume fraction as well as the thickness. These parameters highly
depend on operator skill.
▪ The process offers a good surface finish on one side and a rough surface finish on the other side.
▪ Only short fibres can be used in this process.
▪ Since, pressurized resin is used the laminates tend to be very resin-rich.
▪ Similar to wet/hand lay-up process, the resins need to be of low viscosity so that it can be sprayed.

Applications
▪ Simple enclosures, lightly loaded structural panels,
e.g. caravan bodies, truck fairings, bathtubs, shower
trays
Sonication and Degassing Technique
▪ This process is suitable for the fabrication of particulate and filler reinforced polymer composites